Employment practices liability insurance
In an always-online world, your business is at increased risk of employee litigation. According to the Fair Work Commission¹, workplace lodgements in Australia increased by 24% above the five-year average in 2024-25, driven by a massive 27% surge in general protections dismissal claims. Disputes over online activity – including social media use – are a major factor in suits brought by employees. In addition, psychological injuries in workplaces are rising faster and costing more than other types of harm, according to the Mind Your Head² campaign. That means it’s essential for Australian businesses to protect themselves with employment practices liability coverage in today’s commercial climate.
What is employment practices liability insurance?
Employment practices liability insurance is a commercial insurance policy that protects your business against financial losses due to legal proceedings with past, present or potential employees alleging wrongful employment practices, including:
– Unfair dismissal
– Bullying and psychosocial hazards
– Sexual harassment
– Discrimination
– Deprivation of career opportunities (including failure to promote).
Legal proceedings like these can result in significant financial losses, and also cause irreparable damage to your reputation and brand – a cost that’s especially difficult for small businesses to withstand. Having employment practices liability coverage helps your business avoid or minimise the impacts.
What can I claim on employment practices liability insurance?
Having employment practices liability insurance covers you for:
- legal fees – including solicitor fees and court costs
- settlement costs – the financial settlement for the employee plus legal costs
- costs to repair your reputation and brand – covering the cost of PR consultations and marketing campaigns to rehabilitate your brand
How an employment practices liability insurance can help
Australian workplace relations are governed by complex and rapidly changing laws and regulations, so choosing the right cover can be difficult. As a leading employment practices liability insurance broker, Ian Jones understands the specific risks and needs of your business. We have the experience and knowledge to provide tailored advice and protection you can trust.
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Insuring businesses and professionals in Newcastle and across Australia since 1984.
FAQs
If you employ permanent or temporary staff (including contractors), you need employment practices liability coverage. Defending against an employment-related claim is time-consuming, expensive and disruptive – and standard policies, procedures and training are no longer enough to protect you.
Employee claims around unfair dismissal, harassment, bullying and breach of contract are among the biggest risks for employment practices liability claims.
Employment practices liability insurance covers your legal costs, settlement costs and the costs to rehabilitate your business’s reputation.
An employment practices liability policy provided on a ‘claims made’ basis means claims made and reported during the policy period are covered, as long as they meet the policy’s conditions. It doesn’t matter if the event the claim relates to happened before the policy was taken out – so long as the claim is made and notified during the policy period, it will most likely be covered, provided policy conditions are met.